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02/11/2010
Prisoners May Get Right To Vote
Thousands of UK prisoners may get the right to vote after the Government conceded defeat in a long-running battle with the European Court of Human Rights over the issue.
According to reports, the Government has reluctantly accepted the European court's ruling that the current ban, which has been in place in the UK for 140 years, is unlawful.
The Government's lawyers have advised that failing to comply with the order could cost hundred of millions of pounds in legal costs and compensation.
The 1870 Forfeiture Act banned prisoners from voting and the ban was retained in the Representation of the People Act of 1983.
However, in 2004, John Hirst , a prisoner who had been convicted of manslaughter, brought a legal challenge to the court of European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that the ban was discriminatory and breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling did, however, allow each country to decided which offences should carry restrictions to voting rights and it is thought that the Government will continue to ban those who commit the most serious offences, such as murder, from voting.
More than 70,000 prisoners in the UK are currently unable to vote, although those on remand awaiting trial, fine defaults and people jailed for contempt of court can still vote.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said that no formal decision had yet been made on the issue.
(KMcA)
According to reports, the Government has reluctantly accepted the European court's ruling that the current ban, which has been in place in the UK for 140 years, is unlawful.
The Government's lawyers have advised that failing to comply with the order could cost hundred of millions of pounds in legal costs and compensation.
The 1870 Forfeiture Act banned prisoners from voting and the ban was retained in the Representation of the People Act of 1983.
However, in 2004, John Hirst , a prisoner who had been convicted of manslaughter, brought a legal challenge to the court of European Court of Human Rights, which ruled that the ban was discriminatory and breached the European Convention on Human Rights.
The ruling did, however, allow each country to decided which offences should carry restrictions to voting rights and it is thought that the Government will continue to ban those who commit the most serious offences, such as murder, from voting.
More than 70,000 prisoners in the UK are currently unable to vote, although those on remand awaiting trial, fine defaults and people jailed for contempt of court can still vote.
A Cabinet Office spokesperson said that no formal decision had yet been made on the issue.
(KMcA)
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